All posts tagged ‘Walt Disney World’

While the lion’s share of seasonal attention goes to the Horror Nights festival at rival Universal Studios, Walt Disney World offers a more family-friendly option for those looking for some Halloween merriment. I attended their annual Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party with my wife and children last week, and found it a fine alternative for residents and vacationers alike.

Throngs of attendees queued up with us outside of the Magic Kingdom at nightfall to collect their admittance bracelets. Not surprisingly most were in costume, and I noted more than a few families of pirates and, for some reason, Waldos among the ranks. There were also scores of Disney princesses and villainesses alongside a healthy dose of other Halloween favorites. My son’s own Finn the Human costume was well-received by cast members – with many of them excitedly asking him what time it was – though my Dipper Pines get-up only seemed to be recognized by a trio of other attendees. (Though one particularly enthused young lady was dressed as a Black Mesa scientist and her father as a Star Fleet officer, so we can assume that hers was a matter of simply being raised right.) Continue Reading “Have a Not-So-Scary Halloween at Walt Disney World” »

The Disney resorts seem to have a strange sort of crossover appeal to geeks and non-geeks alike, and I happily count my family firmly in the Disneyphile camp. Indeed, not unlike the success of Apple, the way people fall in love with Disney resorts and theme parks shows that people will pay for a quality experience with excellent customer service.

Which is why we decided to make our major family summer trip to Walt Disney World (WDW) this year. This was the first trip to the WDW resorts for our boys (being in California, we frequent Disneyland), and in effect for my wife and me as well, since neither of us had been there for something like 20 years (yikes!). So, being a good geek and blogger, I’d like to share a few observations that will hopefully help other families considering their first trip to WDW make the best of it.

I’m not going to say much about this story other than to encourage you to go read all six parts, as blogged by the dad, Ron Miles. I saw it first on Boing Boing, as posted by that Disney-phile Cory Doctorow. This is the kind of story that just needs to be re-told, and enjoyed (but keep the tissues handy). The setup is this: the “Snow White’s Scary Adventure” (aka SWSA) is shutting down after 40-odd years at Walt Disney World (WDW), to make way for new stuff. Ron’s son Ben, who is autistic, found an incredible joy on the ride, to the point that he rode it, quite literally, thousands of times. With the closure of the ride pending, his family decided to help him try to reach a milestone number of rides. And when the staff at WDW got involved on the ride’s last day, Ben’s life became a little bit magical.

Perhaps it’s because my kids are homeschooled. Or perhaps I’m just geeky that way. But when my family decides to head out on vacation I go into hyper-drive. I see it as an opportunity to get primed for our visit to [insert cool vacation destination here], learn about the area, and delve into all sorts of activities related to our upcoming trip. We immerse ourselves in our planned vacation, seeking out historic information or maps of a city or details about must-see attractions. We live and breathe our vacation destination for a month before we’re set to leave.

Author Kate Reilly gets me! In her new book, Walt Disney World Resort: Extreme Vacation Guide for Kids, Kate presents more than 30 activities that will help kids prepare for and enjoy their visit to the Magic Kingdom. The only book about Disney travel that caters specifically to children, it begins with an introduction to Disney World and acknowledges that waiting for the trip will be the hardest part. The beginning of the book features ideas for counting down to the departure date and methods for earning money to spend during the vacation. (I love that she encourages kids to take responsibility for some of their spending money.)

Like other GeekDad contributors, I spent some time at Walt Disney World this summer; in fact, we just returned a few days ago after spending 14 nights at Disney’s Port Orleans resort (if that sounds excessive, it’s hard to justify only a week with a 2,600 mile round trip drive). This was the first time at the Magic Kingdom for my wife and kids, and my first foray since being scarred as a child when my parents took our family in 1976. Mind you, that trip was on July 4, 1976. The American bicentennial. As Canadians, we realize you folks celebrate the Fourth of July, but I suspect my parents underestimated how just big a deal that particular day was. Anyway, up until a few weeks ago, my impression of Disney World was three hour lines for stroller rentals and my toddler brother screaming through the Country Bear Jamboree. This time was much better, despite the heat, and a great way to end the summer. There were a few things I noted during my visit and I’ve listed them below.

Rockin' the rain ponchos... (photo by Jody Moon)

1. Monster smoked turkey legs were a popular snack, but it seriously creeped me out having greasy faced, zoned out people bumping into me while tearing away great chunks of flesh from a fistful of bone. All I could think was: zombies. They could put a smoked turkey leg stand inside the Haunted Mansion and with the right lighting, people gnawing on those things would be spookier than any of the animatronics.

2. Hate the rain, love the rain. Our first week at Disney, it was bloody hot and humid. I had to take a shower twice a day and wallow in pools to keep from overheating. The second week, we were frequently subjected to rain showers. Not the fifteen or twenty minute ones you hear about, but several hours at a time, complete with thunder storms that shut down the boats and water taxis. We were prepared, with ponchos and ziplock bags for cameras, but I hate getting wet and the kids would eventually get miserable when caught in protracted periods of downpour. But on the plus side, if you can live with the rain, the wet weather works wonders for clearing out a park. Say good-bye to line-ups.

In many ways, experiencing the Land of Mouse alone was seeing Disney World for the first time. So I was inspired to make a list of all the things you can do at without kids to sort out why it felt so different.

Photo by Josh Hallett; used under Creative Commons Attribution license.

1. Wait

If there’s a ride that you must have right.this.second, you can get a bottle of water, a snack and settle into line, which is exactly what I did for The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror, my first stop on the kid-less tour. It was supposed to be an eighty minute wait without FastPass.

However, the wait was closer to thirty minutes which was plenty of time to finish my snack. (Though if you have a weak stomach, the snack may not be advisable. )

2. Appreciate the Scenery.

When I’m in line for a Disney ride with my kids, I’m not paying much attention to the ride. I’m counting heads. I have four children and I have to make sure they’re not scared or teasing each other or becoming dehydrated.

Alone, it was possible to look around and appreciate the care and skill Disney puts into maintaining the illusion of unreality inside the theme parks.

For instance, I finally noticed the show tunes piped into the central meeting area at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. I’m sure the music is nothing new but I never heard it before. This time, I recognized a few songs, such as “On the Street Where You Live” from My Fair Lady.

3. Be Terrified

When I rode the Tower of Terror with the kids, I kept an eagle eye on the younger two to make sure they weren’t afraid and that they were strapped in securely. All the spooky trappings went over my head.

When I rode it by myself, I could pay attention to the theatrics. I realized “hey, this is kinda, well, terrifying.”

4. Change Your Mind

With the kids, I had to have a plan and I needed to follow through on that plan or I would soon be placating four cranky children. No second thoughts were allowed, not even when I was uncertain of riding Mission: Space at EPCOT.

With the kids with me, I had to live up to the promise I made to try this particular thing.

Without them, I could back away slowly, if needed. (Though I did love Mission: Space.)

5. Pause and Be Indecisive

Being indecisive is generally death to parenting, whether you’re at a theme park or not. It’s even worse when touring Disney because then my kids became restless and started arguing over where they want to go individually–they hardly ever agree — and suddenly, chaos reigns.

When I was alone, I could sit down, look at the map and even decide to stop walking and rest for a while.